2008-09 Enrollment Policy and Procedures

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OPEN ENROLLMENT 2008-09

Application for admission to the SunRidge Charter School shall be open to any resident in the state of California. Pupils will be considered for admission without regard to ethnicity, national origin, gender, family structure, or disability.

Children must meet the following age requirements:

Kindergarten: Age five on or before December 2nd after entering Kindergarten the previous September.

First Grade through Eighth: Age six by June 1st prior to entering First Grade in September. This age policy continues in this manner through all the grades, reflecting the developmental approach followed by Waldorf-methods schools. Exceptions to this policy may be made by consent of the class teacher and the director, and will be on a trial basis.

Application Process

The application process for SunRidge Charter School will follow California Education code for Charter Schools and the provisions included in the school's charter as approved by Twin Hills Union School District and the State Board of Education. In that SunRidge School employs a Waldorf-methods curriculum, and emphasizes parent involvement, it is essential that the needs, expectations, and values of applicants' parents are a good match with the school's educational program. Specifically, parents are expected to be in agreement with the following:

The steps of the application process are designed to help families and teachers determine if SunRidge is the right educational option for each child. Those steps are:

1) Attend one or more public information meetings.
2) Complete and submit the written application within the designated open enrollment period.
3) Attend a family conference/interview with a teacher.
4) Sign an agreement of parent expectations.

Applications for new students are accepted during the designated open enrollment period each spring for the following school year. Following the open enrollment period, a determination is made as to whether the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of available spaces for each class. An eligible applicant is defined as one whose parent or parents have attended a public information meeting and submitted a completed application form within the designated open enrollment period for that year.

Lottery Procedure

As required by law, a public lottery procedure will be initiated when the number of eligible applicants exceeds the capacity of a class. Tickets with eligible applicants' names will be drawn randomly, and a number assigned to each applicant. Enrollment in the class will then be allocated according to available space, lottery number, and the enrollment priorities shown below. Kindergarten applicants will be divided by age into K-1 (one-year in kindergarten) and K-2 (two years in kindergarten), with selection based on available kindergarten spaces in each age grouping (younger children traditionally attend Kindergarten for two years in Waldorf methods schools).

Enrollment priority is as follows:
1) Children of SunRidge School employees working at least .5FTE
2) Siblings of currently enrolled SunRidge students
3) Children who are residents of Twin Hills School District, children of employees of the Twin Hills School District, or children with previous Waldorf-based schooling experience
4) Children who are not Twin Hills School District residents and do not have previous Waldorf-related experience

Applicants are placed on a waiting list within each priority category in the order of their lottery ticket number. Available spaces will be offered by order on the waiting list within each priority category, first to applicants in the #1 priority group, then the #2 priority group, then the #3 priority group, and then the 4th priority group. Applications received after the open enrollment period will be placed on the waiting list below open enrollment applicants in order of receipt, and may be offered available spaces after completing the necessary steps of the application process. Applicants not offered spaces remain on the waiting list only for the school year for which they applied and are contacted if space becomes available during that school year.

As spaces are available, applicants will be notified and offered a family conference. The family conference is intended to allow the family and the potential teacher to get to know each other, to clarify student and parent expectations, and to help insure that SunRidge is a good educational match for each child. The family conference and the Agreement of Parent Expectations need to be completed prior to enrollment in the school. Parents will need to complete these parts of the application process and confirm their acceptance of enrollment in writing, by a specified date, or forfeit their space.

Students with Special Needs

SunRidge Charter School is a public school within the Twin Hills Union School District and will work together with the special education local plan area (SELPA) to ensure that a free and appropriate education is provided to all students with disabilities. SunRidge School participates in state and federal funding in the same manner as other schools within the Twin Hills Union School District. The Twin Hills Union School District will be responsible for ensuring that all children with disabilities enrolled in the SunRidge School receive special education and designated instructional services implemented within the curriculum of SunRidge School in a manner consistent with all applicable provisions of state and federal law.

Revised 1/31/07

For an Application for Admission to SunRidge School please select this link